Just A Little Fire
by LivelyS-I-N
Summary: When Riko is pulled into the feudal era by four evil witches, she unlocks powers she didn't know existed and learns the truth about her past. Desperate to save her terminally ill brother, she falls in to Naraku's trap while evil forces seek her powers. The line between good and evil is blurred and she must decide who she can trust before it's too late.


She always believed in the fortune of her fortune cookies. There was just something so special about them. Sure, they could have been random, but she knew each one came to her for a reason. Their guidance kept her safe and sent her in the right direction, but she just couldn't wrap her head around the one she opened that day.

The Fushimi Inari shrine was on the way back from the hospital where her brother was. Whenever she heard bad news on his condition, the place had a way of lifting her spirits. Every day, she got a fortune cookie from a bakery and found peace in the shrine. Opening it there just made the fortunes so much more powerful and they always were true.

Almost always. There was no way it was meant for her. It had to have been a mix up. The words and even the lucky numbers couldn't escape her mind. "The past belongs to the past. The time is right for a new beginning. Lucky numbers 3, 54, 97, 10."

Sure the past belongs to the past, but this couldn't be her new beginning. Every fiber in her body was experiencing pain she never thought she could feel. Completely immobilized, she watched four witches extract her soul from her body. She ruled out the possibility of it being a dream. Her body strongly opposed that theory.

She had thought she was entering her new beginning when she saw the light just few hours ago. She saw it after the left the shrine. She even heard them calling out, Inari. They chanted it over and over. She believed in her fortune and followed the light. It's force pulled her in until it swept her from her feet and sent her spiraling into another world.

When she was falling, images flashed before her eyes so quickly that she could hardly keep track of them all. The only vision that was sticking was a fox woman and a lot of animal bones larger than a whale's. Her imagination hadn't been that wondrous since she was a child.

Despite her pain, memories began flooding her mind and she believed it was death coming for her. Through her memories she'd been watching three hooded figures. They had to be witches with the evils they were conjuring. One loomed close, extending her fingers over her heart. She saw herself as a child playing hide and seek with her brother long before he became ill. In those days her hair was shorter and her smiles lasted longer.

At first she was so excited about her hiding spot. It was the locked room they were forbidden to enter. But it was unlocked that day and she entered. There was nothing in it. It was a small room with wooden floors and white walls. There were no windows or lamps but a light shined from beneath the floorboards. Her curiosity urged her to pull the floor boards to reach it, but her fragile body rejected the idea.

Then the light spoke to her. "Never return, young master. The evils have yet to die."

The door flew open and her mother stood before her. She thought she'd be mad, but her face didn't indicate so. She didn't say a word before sweeping her up and quickly closing the door, after glancing at the light.

"But where is it now!" The witch shouted and in that instant the pain ceased and it was like she never felt it. Still she couldn't move, but her vision became clear. She lied on a stone table in what looked like a cave.

For the first time she noticed children. They whimpered in a corner with a variety of blades nearby. Nothing physical barricaded them, but she could see a dark force surrounding them. One child caught her eye. In an orange kimono the girl returned her gaze with a sympathetic smile. Without a tear in her eye, she was confident about something.

"Were close, sister."

"It must be near."

The cave had no entrance or exit, but another of the witches entered after a white light appeared. Behind her were three children levitating, seemingly paralyzed. They were moved to join the others.

"Fear not, sister," the fourth one said. "There is fresh meat."

"All you need is a refreshing snack," another said. With the cloaks, they were indistinguishable.

"You are right, sister," she answered and thrust a hand out and one of the children huddled in the back flew toward her and crashed on the ground. Like a puppet master, she flicked her wrist and the child stood at attention.

"She always does go for the spineless ones."

She turned and said, "Fear is the most tasteful ingredient." The witch's mouth enlarged like a funhouse mirror and bit off the child's head like a piece of chicken. Then she did the same to another child and one more.

Tears fled Riko's eyes. It couldn't be real! The witch came to her again and raised her hands above her. Blood dripped onto her cheek. She couldn't deliberately move but her body quaked beneath her fear. The witch lowered her hand and spoke to her sisters. "This one's will is stronger than the others."

"We must break it," the other three said in unision. As if it were all that simple, the pain returned from its slumber and memories erupted from her. Besides the agony, she started to feel different. As if she were gaining control of something within her.

She returned to a day that she'd give anything to erase. The day her brother was diagnosed with cancer. He was only 17 then. It was his senior year in high school and her junior. When she was called out of class that day her teachers told her was that there was an accident and said nothing more.

Her mom was at the hospital by the time she got there. She gripped his hand tightly as the doctor explained everything as though he was reading a script. The words 'chemo', 'aggressive' and 'three years' made her stomach churn. The words still made her shiver.

She thought the pain was making her delusional. After all, she felt like it was tearing her apart from the inside out. She felt her ears shrinking into nothing but moments later she heard more than she ever had. She heard every word the witches said with perfect clarity and could even hear the children's tears hit the ground. She suspected she was closer to death.

"She's becoming too strong."

"If we continue we may lose."

"I've almost found it! Just a while longer!"

Riko's eyes shot past her memories and at the witches. They were nervous. Then she saw more of her memories.

She returned from the hospital that night with her mom and brother. Takao slept the moment they returned and didn't stir. Riko remained in her room and cried until there was no will left in her. She just couldn't understand why her mother was so calm about it all. She'd been in that empty room that held the light and hadn't been out since.

In the early hours of the morning that door creaked open and her mother moved through the hall with an unfathomable energy. Riko felt herself being pulled toward it even though it's power frightened her. She opened her door and saw it. Her mother held a golden sphere in her hands like it was a baby bird.

"There it is!" one of the witches claimed.

The closer Riko got to the sphere in her memory, the stronger she felt.

Her mother entered her brother's room with it. Through the door crack she watched her press the orb to his chest. When it touched him, each of his muscles relaxed, welcoming its power.

Just like that her memories returned to earlier that day when she was visiting him in the hospital. His body had no strength, but his voice and attitude said otherwise. Whenever she walked into his room, she could count all of his teeth when he smiled at her and not once did he complain about the needles in his arms or his hair abandoning his head.

"You ought to cut your hair. Like how you had when you were in school. It suited you," he had told her earlier that day.

"At long last! We'll kill the boy and immortality will be ours!"

Her memories snapped away from her and her mind and body were free from the witch's hold. She jumped up to find the last one entering the portal that was narrowing rapidly. With nothing but adrenaline carrying her, she entered just in time.

 **AN** : Bam! Hi friends! Welcome to the end of the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed. FYI, this story will be updated weekly on Sundays. I'd love to hear what you guys think! The story is young so it'll be influenced by what you guys say. Hit me with a review after you check out the preview for next chapter! :)

 **Chapter 2 Preview**

The witch looked down at the fox woman with a smirk. "Inari's powers were supposed to be a challenge. This is pathetic." Her eyes danced as she raised the shard and began its swift journey to her heart.


End file.
